Unnecessarily Beautiful Spaces for Young Minds on Fire How 826 Valencia, and Dozens of Centers Like It, Got Built—and Why

Edited by The International Alliance of Youth Writing Centers

Introduction by & Amanda Uhle Unnecessarily Beautiful Spaces for Young Minds on Fire How 826 Valencia, and Dozens of Centers Like It, Got Built—and Why

M c S W E E N E Y ’ S

Copyright © 2019 McSweeney’s and the Hawkins Project Edited by ISBN: 978-1-944211-82-0 Executive editors: Dave Eggers and Amanda Uhle The International Alliance Front-cover photo: Celso Rojas Photography of Youth Writing Centers Back-cover photo: Matthew Millman Inside front- and back-cover photo: Nicole Haley Book designed by Captions by Amy Sumerton Copyedited by Daniel Levin Becker Annie Dills Editorial support: Rachel Villa with Sunra Thompson 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 www.mcsweeneys.net Managing editor Printed in China Kitania Folk Contents

826 Valencia San Francisco, CA 30

826 Valencia: Tenderloin Center San Francisco, CA 44 826 Valencia: 54

Mission Bay Center San Francisco, CA

826NYC New York City, NY 64

826LA: Echo Park , CA 70

826LA: Mar Vista Los Angeles, CA 78

Grimm & Co Rotherham, England 82

Berättar ministeriet Stockholm, Sweden 98

The Ministry of Stories London, England 106

826 Roxbury, MA 118

WordPlay Cincy Cincinnati, OH 126

Story Factory Parramatta, Australia 134

826CHI , IL 146

W*ORT Lustenau, Austria 152

The Writer’s Block Las Vegas, NV 158

Scuola Holden’s Fronte del Borgo Torino, Italy 164

Noordje Amsterdan, Netherlands 168

826DC Washington, DC 174

826 MSP Minneapolis, MN 180

Austin Bat Cave Austin, TX 186 Fighting Words Dublin, Ireland 190

916 Ink Sacramento, CA 194 Tulsa Library Intergalactic 198

Spaceport & Emporium Tulsa, OK

826michigan: Detroit, MI 202 826michigan: 210

Ann Arbor & Ypsilanti Ann Arbor, MI

Read and Write Kalamazoo Kalamazoo, MI 218

Young Authors Greenhouse Louisville, KY 222 Chapter 510 & the 226

Dept. of Make Believe Oakland, CA

826 New Orleans New Orleans, LA 232

Just Buffalo Literary Center Buffalo, NY 236

La Grande Fabbrica delle Parole Milan, Italy 240

Porto delle Storie Florence, Italy 244

Little Green Pig East Sussex, England 248

Story Planet Toronto, Canada 254

How To Make a Place Like This: A Guide 260 About the International Congress of Youth Voices 268 Young Editors Project 270 Student Publications 272 The International Alliance of Youth Writing Centers 274 Directory 276 Image Credits and Acknowledgments 278 Established: Designers: Area: Address: 2016 Gensler, Interstice 5,200 sq. f. 180 Golden Gate Ave. Architects, Office, San Francisco, CA MKThink, BCCI, and Jonas Kellner

(Opposite) One almost feels underwater as they enter the emporium. (Above) Customers are treated to souvenirs from the travels of King Carl, the royal puferfsh.

How does this space differ from the original 826 Valencia? We wanted King Carl’s Emporium to feel like you were stepping into an old department store. There isn’t much retail in the Tenderloin District, so we wanted to ofer a range of daily-use products with a whimsical twist (e.g., lip balm is “Unicorn Horn Polish”). Because the Tenderloin neighborhood is very ethnically diverse, we thought that the theme of a traveling royal puferfsh could include items and experiences from many diferent cultures around the world. We also honored these populations by putting the motto set forth and explore on the windows in eight diferent languages. When people venture inside, a scavenger hunt nicely provides structure for those who need a little encouragement to explore. While we were 826 Valencia: creating a storefront that would also serve as reception for our programming, we wanted to positively activate the street and considered greater monitoring and safety. Simple improvements like windows and a whimsical mural increase Tenderloin neighborhood pride and allow passersby to see the students at work. Many people do not know that the Tenderloin is home to over three thousand young people and we wanted Center San Francisco, CA The center is walkable from the original location; it’s not reachable by boat. to create a joyful and beautiful space for them.

826 Valencia: Tenderloin Center 45 One important takeaway from this book: if at all possible, include a secret door. The Fog Bank allows one to withdraw fog, a common currency in San Francisco. Can you fnd the human hiding in this photo?

How did you gather support for creating this space? While working with more people is, in some ways, more work, it makes each piece of the project more manageable on a budget. It also engages the community in the space from the beginning. Always focus on the mission and how what you’re doing makes a positive impact on the students and community. Treat this ask much like you would any monetary donation: be clear about purpose, explain the op- portunity in an inspiring manner, express lots of gratitude all the time, and have excellent follow-through on all tasks to make it easy for people to be involved. Also, engaging passionate pro bono partners ensures one more advocate asking others to be generous as well. Our construction partner asked every subcontractor if they would donate their portion of the project and often the answer was yes. ●

Furthermore: if at all possible, include multiple secret doors. Drawer nameplates honor donors to the center. Woodland creatures are rare but welcome visitors. A clock displays the time in Atlantis (which is real).

46 Unnecessarily Beautiful Spaces for Young Minds on Fire 826 Valencia: Tenderloin Center 47 When asked what the new center in the Tenderloin District needed, one of the students at 826 Valencia suggested a tree fort. Weirdly, the new space actually had an odd little mezzanine, so that was converted into an actual, bona-fde indoor tree fort. Typically, students are allowed to explore it after—and only after—their assignments are completed. Indoor tree house, anyone? All kinds of work, from hard to whimsical and all points in between, happens in settings like this.

Woodland creatures, ocean-loving monsters, and humans alike love nooks, crannies, and display cases with items of interest. Many (even famous) writers have never had the opportunity to read on a large tree stump. Not so for students who come to 826 Valencia: Tenderloin Center.

50 Unnecessarily Beautiful Spaces for Young Minds on Fire 826 Valencia: Tenderloin Center 51 1 2 5 6

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PRETTY GOOD KEY TO… KEYTAG MESSAGE IN STILTS FOR TINY GNOME BE-GONE ENCHANTED FOREST UNICORN GIANT SQUID PENCILS A BOTTLE 2.0 CREATURES FIPPLE FLUTE HORN POLISH INK PENS Designer and Writer: Designer and Writer: Designer and Writer: Ofce and 826 Valencia Designer and Writer: Designer and Writer: Ofce and 826 Valencia Designer and Writer: Designer and Writer: Designer and Writer: Ofce and 826 Valencia Ofce and 826 Valencia Ofce and 826 Valencia Ofce and 826 Valencia Ofce and 826 Valencia Ofce and 826 Valencia Finally, we unlocked the keys to the The safest, most foolproof method of No. 2 pencils equipped with inspiring universe, and you can have them too, From lists of demands to distress Also frewood kindling and non- ridding your forest or abode of pesky Let the sweet soprano sounds of Nourishing balm for that not-overly- Handcrafted in Michigan, these fne and joyful quotes from 826’s own for a nominal fee. You’re welcome. signals to poems that are too personal magic wands. Sold only in pairs. gnomes. For best results, scrunch the fpple fute recorder take you shiny shine. Organic, gluten-free, non- writing instruments may or may not King Carl to help you bust through to share with the crew, now you don’t Do not ask to separate. Helmet use your left toe and sprinkle Be-Gone places. Like the cobblestone streets GMO, petroleum-free, and cruelty-free. contain ink from a Giant Squid. any writer’s block. have to decide which message is most advised. dust over your left shoulder while of a quaint German village. Or the Never tested on unicorns. important—send them all! Two giga- reciting an original limerick. Aegean Sea under moonlight. Or a bytes of USB storage. That equates to scary hole inside a dead tree during a roughly one hundred thousand scrolls thunderstorm. Make beautiful music, of parchment, depending on how big my friend. you write.

52 Unnecessarily Beautiful Spaces for Young Minds on Fire 826 Valencia: Tenderloin Center 53 Unnecessarily Beautiful Spaces for Young on Minds Fire Every kid in the world needs a safe, welcoming, and even weird place to write. That’s the theory behind 826 Valencia, a writing and tutoring center started Unnecessarily in 2002. That center, with a pirate-themed storefront, inspired similar—and similarly gorgeous and strange— Beautiful centers around the world, from Chicago to Stockholm to Melbourne. This joyous and boundlessly creative book, filled with stunning photos of the world’s most welcoming Spaces and wild spaces for young minds, seeks to inspire more communities, schools, and libraries to build their own unnecessarily beautiful centers for young thinkers. for Young Minds on Fire How 826 Valencia, and Dozens of Centers Like It, Got Built—and Why

Edited by The International Alliance of Youth Writing Centers

Introduction by Dave Eggers & Amanda Uhle